Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics with heavy metals in the aquatic environment: Mechanisms and mitigation

This review synthesized mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption onto microplastics in aquatic environments and evaluated strategies for removing both contaminants simultaneously. The authors found that temperature, salinity, and plastic surface aging govern metal binding, and identified hybrid adsorbent materials as the most promising approach for co-removal of metals and microplastics from water.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
Review Tier 2

Microplastics and potentially toxic elements: A review of interactions, fate and bioavailability in the environment

This review summarizes how microplastics interact with toxic metals in the environment, finding that microplastics absorb and transport metals through soil and water via processes like electrostatic attraction and surface bonding. When organisms consume microplastics carrying toxic metals, they can experience greater harm than from either pollutant alone. This combined threat is relevant to human health because contaminated microplastics in the food chain could deliver concentrated doses of toxic metals to people through food and water.

2023 Environmental Pollution 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of microplastics with metal(oid)s in aquatic environments: What is done so far?

This review assembled the mechanisms by which microplastics sorb hazardous metals and metalloids in aquatic environments, examining how weathering, biofilm formation, and environmental conditions influence the transport and bioavailability of these contaminants.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of microplastics with heavy metals in soil: Mechanisms, influencing factors and biological effects

This review summarizes how microplastics and heavy metals interact in soil, where microplastics can absorb and carry toxic metals through the food chain and into the human body. Aging and weathering of microplastics changes their surface properties, making them better at picking up heavy metals, which raises concerns about combined exposure through contaminated crops and water.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 96 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review on the interaction of polymer particles and co-existing contaminants: Adsorption mechanism, exposure factors, effects on plankton species

This review critically examines how microplastics and nanoplastics interact with co-existing contaminants including organic pollutants, toxic metals, and nanoparticles. Researchers found that the combined toxicity depends on multiple factors including plastic size, polymer type, weathering, and the nature of the co-contaminant. The study reveals that mixture effects on plankton species vary widely, with some combinations producing synergistic harm and others showing antagonistic interactions.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Environmental Pollutants with Microplastics: A Critical Review of Sorption Factors, Bioaccumulation and Ecotoxicological Effects

This critical review examines how microplastics interact with and enhance the toxicity of co-occurring environmental pollutants including heavy metals, persistent organic compounds, and pharmaceuticals, synthesizing evidence on sorption mechanisms and combined ecotoxicological effects.

2020 Toxics 313 citations
Article Tier 2

Concomitant presence of nanosized plastics and metal(loid)s: is there cause for alarm? State-of-the-art and recommendations for future studies

This review assessed the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and metal(loid)s in the environment, finding that nanoplastics can adsorb and transport heavy metals, potentially amplifying toxicity through combined exposure and calling for integrated risk assessment approaches.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 6 citations
Article Tier 2

A Mini-Review On The Microplastic-Heavy Metal Interactions And The Factors Affecting Their Fate In Aquatic Habitats

This mini-review examines how microplastics interact with heavy metals in aquatic environments, serving as vectors that can transport toxic pollutants. Researchers describe how factors like polymer type, surface area, water pH, and salinity influence the adsorption of heavy metals onto microplastic surfaces, potentially increasing their bioavailability to aquatic organisms.

2024 Communications Faculty of Science University of Ankara Series C Biology Geological Engineering and Geophysical Engineering 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-occurrence and Interaction of Microplastics with Heavy Metals

This review examines the co-occurrence of microplastics and heavy metals in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, synthesizing evidence on how MPs adsorb metals, alter their bioavailability, and facilitate their transfer up food chains, compounding toxicological risks beyond either pollutant alone.

2025
Article Tier 2

The evolving interface of aged microplastics and heavy metals: implications for environmental fate and toxicity

This review examined how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment, focusing on how plastics serve as carriers that increase metal mobility and bioavailability. Researchers found that factors like polymer aging, biofilm formation, and water chemistry significantly affect how efficiently microplastics absorb metals, and that the combined exposure creates compounded toxicity including oxidative stress and organ damage in organisms. The findings highlight the need for more research on the long-term and multigenerational effects of these combined pollutants.

2026 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological interactions of microplastics/nanoplastics and environmental contaminants: Current knowledge and future perspectives

This review examines how the combined presence of micro- and nanoplastics with other environmental contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals affects toxicity. Researchers found that plastic particles can alter the bioavailability and toxic effects of co-occurring pollutants, sometimes increasing harm to organisms, which complicates environmental risk assessment.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 501 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure of microplastics and heavy metals in the marine environment and remediation techniques: a comprehensive review

This review examines how microplastics and heavy metals interact when they co-exist in the marine environment, with microplastics acting as carriers that concentrate metals on their surfaces. Researchers describe the mechanisms behind this interaction, including surface complexation, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic forces. The study also surveys current remediation techniques aimed at removing both microplastics and heavy metal-laden microplastics from marine ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Microplastics on the Mobility, Bioavailability, and Toxicity of Heavy Metals: A Review

This review examines how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment, potentially influencing the metals' mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity to living organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can adsorb heavy metals and transport them to new locations, but the interactions depend on the type of plastic, metal, and environmental conditions. The study highlights that microplastics acting as carriers for toxic metals represents an underappreciated environmental and health risk.

2021 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 115 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic and heavy metal interactions (adsorption and desorption) at different salinities

Researchers examined adsorption and desorption of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn) onto polypropylene, polyethylene, and other microplastic types at varying concentrations and salinities, finding PP particles absorbed the most metal but also released it most slowly compared to other polymers.

2023 BIO Web of Conferences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The Unseen Threat of the Synergistic Effects of Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environments: A Critical Review

This review examines how microplastics and heavy metals interact in water environments, finding that microplastics can attract and concentrate toxic metals on their surfaces through various chemical forces. This combination effect is a concern for human health because contaminated microplastics carrying heavy metals can be consumed through seafood, delivering a double dose of pollutants.

2024 Current Pollution Reports 81 citations
Review Tier 2

Interactions between microplastics (MPs) and trace/toxic metals in marine environments: implications and insights—a comprehensive review

This review examines how microplastics interact with trace and toxic metals in ocean environments, finding that plastic particles can adsorb metals onto their surfaces and alter how those metals move through marine ecosystems. These interactions can increase metal toxicity, reduce the availability of essential nutrients for marine life, and disrupt ocean food chains in ways that may ultimately affect seafood safety for humans.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 20 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review on the interactions of microplastics with heavy metals: Mechanism and their combined effect on organisms and humans

This review examines how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment and what their combined effects mean for organisms and human health. Microplastics absorb heavy metals from surrounding water and soil, and when ingested, the acidic conditions in the gut can cause those metals to be released inside the body. The combination of microplastics and heavy metals may be more toxic than either pollutant alone, creating a compounded health risk.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 545 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastic-Toxic Chemical Interaction: A Review Study on Quantified Levels, Mechanism and Implication

This review summarizes quantified levels of heavy metals and hydrophobic organic contaminants sorbed onto microplastics in environmental media, examining adsorption and desorption mechanisms and discussing health implications of ingested microplastics acting as vectors for toxic chemical transport.

2019 Preprints.org 21 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

How aging microplastics influence heavy metal environmental fate and bioavailability: A systematic review

This systematic review found that environmental aging (UV, weathering) degrades microplastics into smaller particles with higher surface reactivity, increasing their capacity to adsorb heavy metals. These aged microplastic-heavy metal complexes bioaccumulate through the food chain, posing greater ecological and human health risks than either pollutant alone.

2025 Environmental Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Review on the relationship between microplastics and heavy metals in freshwater near mining areas

This review synthesized knowledge on the interaction between microplastics and heavy metals in freshwater environments, covering adsorption mechanisms, combined toxicity, and the role of microplastics as metal vectors. Co-contamination was found to amplify ecological risks beyond what either stressor causes alone.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 6 citations